by Liddie Cain
“Can we go home now?” I asked Felix.
He smiled and touched my cheek. “Soon. Have a couple things to take care of.”
With his hand around my shoulder, he led us back over to where Mac and Jason still stood. Mac motioned around them as we got there. “Felix, your subjects are all waiting for you to give them some direction of what to do.”
Felix glanced at the crowd of Hell denizens that all watched us. “Oh,” he said, quietly. Then louder, he said, “You may go back to your regular activities. I will summon anyone I need to speak with.”
They all bowed to him again. As they all rose to their feet, they started murmuring excitedly between themselves as they turned and started leaving the palace grounds. It was almost unreal to see all that deference given to someone who was one of my lovers. I slipped my hand in his and smiled up at him. “Like that, do you?” his voice purred in my mind. I nodded dramatically and made him grin. He turned to Mac and grasped his shoulder with his free hand.
“As my first act as Demon King, I ask you to accept the title of Imperium President.”
Since this pretty much made Mac the vampire king, there were some surprised faces directed toward them. Mac shook his head. “Not me. I just want to get back home with Roz.”
Felix nodded. “I thought that might be your response, but I felt it should be offered to you first since you outrank Jason.” We all turned to look at Jason.
He blinked. “Oh shit, that means you’re offering it to me now?”
“I think you will be a great President. Of course I want you to do it.”
Jason looked at Mac with a serious expression. “Are you sure? It’s such a great honor.”
“All the more reason that it should be you and not me. You’re a lot more photogenic than me.”
Jason smiled, unconsciously demonstrating just how camera worthy his face was. “That’s true. I’m far more charming.”
Mac rolled his eyes. “I can’t even argue that.”
Felix lifted one eyebrow. “Well Jason?”
“Yes,” he said, before letting out a loud barking laugh. “Hell yeah! That’s President Jason to you.”
Felix laughed as he looked past Jason to find Sylvia. “Sylvia. Do me the honor of becoming my chief advisor?”
It would mean that Sylvia would live here in the palace full time. I let out a pained noise. Sylvia looked at me with an apologetic look, but I could see Darby and Aurnia tightly holding hands as they stood and talked to Darby’s parents. I knew she needed a change. “Only if I can visit Steiner whenever I like.”
“Always. Of course,” Felix responded.
“Then yes, Demon King. I’ll be your first mate on this ship.”
Felix let go of my hand to walk over and give her a hug. They started discussing how things would work as they walked toward the door to go back into the palace. Jason gave me a big smacking kiss before hurrying after them, calling out for Felix to wait. I looked at Mac.
“You gave up the Presidency.”
“You gave up the Demon throne.”
I shook my head with a smile. “It’s not my throne to take.”
“Nor is the Imperium office mine,” he took my hands and kissed my cheek. “My place is with you.”
“And mine with you,” I responded.
“Ready to go back home?”
“Very.”
“Let’s go back to Steiner then.”
There wasn’t anything unusual about the way they came through the door of my small town spa, The Rejuvenate Shop, in Steiner, Alabama. The bell dinged. I turned to greet the next customer as usual. But the ones that walked through that door were nothing anywhere close to human. They were the ones that held the keys to my heart. Jason, newly appointed Imperium President, walked in with his arm around the shoulder of our spicy girlfriend, Song. Conall, King of the Unseelie, came in while laughing and talking with Drest, King of the Gloaming Court. Then came Mac and Felix. Mac, the one I thought had once got away, with green eyes that transported me back to high school football games and kisses at curfew, and the one who had turned down glory because I was all he needed, paused in the doorway to smile at me. Felix, the Demon King who captured my heart way back in my past life, the one who pushed me to act on what he knew my heart was capable of, stood and smiled beside Mac.
Rose, standing beside me behind the reception desk, shot me an amused smile. “Guess I’ve lost your attention for sure now.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I responded, looking back at her. I had come into the shop this morning to help her get some accounting done since I had been away for a few days taking over Hell.
“Go on, I got this,” she said with a laugh. “Lear is coming up here for lunch anyway.”
I smiled and gave her a quick hug before walking out from around the desk. As I was stepping into a hug with Jason and Song, the bell dinged again. My parents, Eve ‘n Elle, walked through the door with my angelic parents, Azrael and Hanna behind them. Everyone exchanged bright and cheerful hellos. I went from person to person, giving hugs and kisses. Darby and Joletta walked out from the back of the spa and I got my first chance to give the lively Joletta a hug since Hugh had been released from jail.
“Are you and Hugh okay?” I asked as we pulled away from the hug.
“Fine! Just fine honey. And the donation program never suffered a setback.”
“Thank you for taking care of it alone,” I said.
“Honey. You had much more important things to take care of. Things that mattered for us all. It was my honor.”
Alec, Jason’s maker, came in the door as everyone chatted. Mac walked over and shook his hand. When we had gotten back home last night, we had gone straight to Mac’s room and not spoken to anyone for any reason. All I had wanted was to pile up on the bed and be held. I had spent the whole night in the arms of Mac and Jason. Song had came and snuggled in as well. Felix and Sylvia had stayed in Hell, getting situated in his new position. I made my way around to greet him since I hadn’t seen him since the day before. As I gave him a kiss, I heard Mac speaking to Alec.
“Jason has asked that I be his second in command in the Imperium. There are going to be some changes made in policies under our leadership.”
“Good, I know both of you have everyone’s best interests at heart.”
“There will be some outcry, I’m sure,” Alec said with a shrug.
“We will handle it,” Felix said.
I stepped back and watched them all talk and laugh together. Both sets of my parents made their way to me, all of them with proud smiles.
“Look at this heaven you’ve made here for yourself, daughter.” Azrael said.
“We are definitely going to need a massive dining table,” Dad joked. I went up on tip-toe and kissed his cheek.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?” he asked.
“So many things,” I replied. “But you and Mom gave me the heart to match the power that came from Mother and Father.”
Hanna shook her head. “No Roz. You always had that heart. You did your own growing into it.”
“And look at the people who fill it now,” Mom said. “Any one of them would make a beautiful grandchild,” she sighed wistfully.
I rolled my eyes at her and laughed. “Now that we don’t have the Demon Overlord of Hell breathing down our necks, maybe we can consider it.”
“Where is my other daughter?” Dad asked of Darby.
She seemed to realize he was asking for her and weaved her way through the crowd to us. Her mortality was more palpable than mine, but her soul was now free of the grasp that Devina had held on it. She was free to live this human life and have a home above. It was all I ever wanted when I fell from Heaven for her. Though I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be a concern. Humans, after all, didn’t age in Fairy. If she became a permanent resident of the Gloaming Court to live with Aurnia, Darby would always be as she was right now. That thought made me smile.
“I think we got everyth
ing we wanted,” she said to me.
“Well, we haven’t gone on that shopping spree yet.”
“Okay, almost everything.” We smiled at each other. Mom slid her arm around Darby’s waist and started talking to her about plans for the holidays, leaving me where I could watch my family, both biological and chosen, share this happy moment with each other. There were likely more wolves at the door that we would face one day. Someone would challenge either Jason or Felix’s rule. Troublesome vampires would come in and out of our district. There would be arguments and hurt feelings. But today was one of those beautiful days where everything was right.
Felix caught my gaze, and I knew that he had heard my thoughts. He smiled and I could feel that draw between us even from across the room. Mac stepped up beside me and I leaned my head over on his shoulder. There were no words needed as he placed a kiss on the top of my head. Jason was laughing, his fingers linked with Song’s, but he felt me watching him and turned to find me. That smile that endeared him to everyone that saw it slowly lit up his face.
I was home. I had the ones I cared about most with me. Not even Heaven could have beaten it.
The End
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Books In This Series
The Bliss Drip
The Thrice Marked
The Glittering Halo
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